


Mercurial

by TheDroidsYoureLookingFor



Category: Mystic Messenger (Video Game)
Genre: Also V's own instabilities, Alternate Ending, F/M, Fix-It, Goddamn mysmes I just wanted everyone to be happy, I WILL WRITE IT MYSELF, If cheritz won't give us the fix-it route we want, Multi, Named MC, Nothing graphic but Saeran's abuse and Rika's manipulation will be mentioned, Trigger warnings? if some of the themes of mysmes disturbed you, Will touch on some psychological themes that the game used so uh, kind of a fix-it fic, yea saeran's route broke me
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-02-08
Updated: 2018-02-08
Packaged: 2019-03-15 11:18:03
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,481
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13612248
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheDroidsYoureLookingFor/pseuds/TheDroidsYoureLookingFor
Summary: Vigilance is key. Keep your head clear. Family above all else. Those three core values were the foundation upon which she built her career and life. Yet even after all that she had faced, nothing could have prepared her for everything that happened from the moment her sister picked up that damned phone. The chaos truly begins when she finds herself trying to keep a dying man alive, and it doesn't get any easier from there. OC-centric, no planned pairings yet.Alternatively: how an outsider who was never meant to be part of this mess found herself right in the thick of it- and how things change, for better or worse. Takes place after the Deep Story's true ending with slight AU twist. V survives, Saeran gets professional help, Rika gets fairly prosecuted, and Vanderwood just wants a proper job.





	Mercurial

  
She isn't sure when things started going to hell- whether it's the first moment her sister calls to tell her that she's been trapped in a stranger's apartment, or when her hands are slick with blood as she tries desperately to keep a man from dying. Despite having virtually exploded upon hearing predicament that her sister had gotten herself into, shel has to admit- the latter is significantly worse on her fraying nerves. It had been a constant series of incidents that had gradually increased in severity from the moment Mi-Cha found that phone, and it doesn't do her blood pressure any favours. First the appointment of her sister as a party host, then that whole shebang with hackers and secret agents and cults and a whole bunch of other shit that had sent her head spinning. She had wondered then if she was on one of those hidden-camera shows, because there was absolutely no way this was all really happening. This was the kind of thing she read about or saw on television in various forms of fictional media- not something that actually happened in real life, let alone to her.

It isn't until she sees the vital readings showing the failing heartbeat of the man on the operating table that everything suddenly becomes painfully real.

She can't quite tell when exactly things had gone wrong. Whether it had been her sister attempting to return a lost phone, or her own attendance at a party that had occurred over two years prior to that. The exact starting line to complete chaos had been hidden from sight, and she knows only that she's been thrust into the race without even hearing the signal to start.

But if this was the kind of thing that sent her crashing, she would never have made it this far in the first place. So, as she's always done whenever life throws her for a loop, Chae-Yeon Seol finds her footing, sets her course- and she runs on ahead. 

* * *

 It's two days after the party when the call for a HEMS operation comes through while she's on duty. The request for the helicopter service is rare enough on its own- but the fact that it is _Jumin Han_ who makes the call makes things just that more urgent. Chae-Yeon Seol finds herself among the assembled staff as they board the aerial vehicle- besides herself, there are two doctors and two fellow surgical nurses- and they all merely exchange grim nods of acknowledgement as they take to the skies. There's no need for much talk between them- they move together as a unit, assembling the equipment they've packed and preparing everything they'll need in the event of the worst case scenario.

Yeon quickly takes note of the faces on board the craft with her. There's Doctor Eun-Bi Kang, one of their senior and most experienced staff members who had previously been trained to work as a doctor for the army before she transferred to the hospital. Her colleague and housemate Ae-Ra Woo is the other doctor on duty- she's the one who picked up the call and immediately called for Yeon and her fellow nurses, Dae-Suk and Eun-Jing to come along. It was fortunate that they'd all been on duty when the call came in- four of the five of them had worked together on similar operations in the HEMS unit before, and it made for easier communication and teamwork among them. The only exception is Eun-Jing, who is visibly nervous as she sits rigidly in her seat- a reaction that Yeon sympathises with. She was once a circulating nurse herself in these operations, and facing a new experience could be rather daunting.

"Ae-Ra, refresh me on the situation again, if you would?" Yeon voices the question as they begin to settle down, hoping to get some clarification on the entire issue. Ae-Ra glances up at her as she tucks her curly red hair into a surgical cap, her gaze slightly unfocused as she recounts the details.

"Mr Han contacted the hospital, requesting medical aid to be deployed. We're apparently the closest hospital to the emergency site with a helicopter on hand- wonder who made him aware of that little detail, hm, Yeon?" The young doctor snorts good-naturedly despite the situation. Yeon feels her own lips twitch upwards in response to the reminder of her encounter with C&R's CEO-in-line at the RFA party. She certainly hadn't accounted for him to call on their aid anytime soon, but the fact that he had makes her wonder if she had any part in the fact that this operation is taking place.

"Did he give any other details?" Dr Kang inquires, and the smile drops from Ae-Ra's face as she shakes her head.

"Unfortunately not. But we'd best be prepared." Here, she looks out of the window, her deep green eyes hardening with resolve. "Even the location he gave is in the middle of nowhere... we could be the only ones standing between someone's life and death. We need to be alert."

The statement alone is enough to inject steel into their nerves- Yeon can feel her back straightening almost instinctively at the reminder, her own eyes flickering out towards the horizon as she remembers why she's here. Knowing that Jumin is the one who called allows her to make the connection that Mi-Cha is involved in this mess somehow, and she hasn't heard from her sister at all since the day before yesterday. Despite her collected demeanour, Yeon struggles to keep herself calm in the face of this emergency. The last thing she wants to do is to pull her own sister onto this operating table in a desperate struggle to keep her alive, but if that's what it comes down to... she isn't sure she could handle it if she failed.

With a shaky breath, Chae-Yeon closes her eyes, seeing her sister's visage in her mind. Long, umber hair, eyes the colour of honey, and a smile that could make her feel better even on the worst of days. Her beloved MC, her little sister- the only family she has left.

When Yeon opens her amber eyes once more, she sees Ae-Ra looking at her in concern, but she simply nods in affirmation.

There is no room for failure, and she would make sure it wouldn't come to that- even if it is the last thing she would do.

* * *

 

They're thrust into action the moment the helicopter begins to descend. As soon as Chae-Yeon sees the blood dripping from the chest of the man that the agents are carrying, she's reaching for the medical supplies with her gloved hands, all thoughts of seeking out her own sister amidst the scattered crowd pushed to the back of her mind. She barely even has time to think as she obeys Dr Kang's immediate orders, her body moving almost on its own. She can't see much from where they are in the air, but for the doctor to request that they prepare the surgical tools instead of waiting for them to transport the patient back, it would seem that she isn't the only one who assumes that drastic measures will need to be taken.

As the helicopter touches the ground, she gets a better look at the patient- he's losing blood fast, the blood seems to start from a focused wound on his chest, and he may have been shot or stabbed. A part of her marvels at how Dr Kang had been able to notice all these details from so far away and have them working to cover most of the possible bases in preparation of their landing, but she barely has time to entertain that thought. There is work to be done, and a life to save- now is not the time for idle thoughts.

As the injured man is immediately brought aboard the operating table, everyone is spurred into action. Chae-Yeon finds herself taking the man's vital readings while Dae-Suk- the more experienced of the two- begins administering medication and hooks him up to the IV drip. As soon as the readings are brought up on the electronic screen, Yeon's lips thin in concern. They looked about just as bad as the patient appeared to be.

There's another unconscious man who's brought onto the other table on board, but amidst all the commotion, Yeon doesn't have time to even look twice at the redhead placed under Ae-Ra's and Eun-Jing's supervision. The mint-haired man before them is clearly in critical condition, and needs her immediate attention more than anything else at the moment.

"Anaesthesia is in effect, doctor. Ready for operation." Dae-Suk's voice rises over the rest of the noise, and Chae-Yeon takes her cue. She wastes no time with the man's shirt and simply cuts through the fabric to get a better look at the wound, and Dr Kang's hands are immediately there as she wipes away the blood with a sterile cloth drenched in alcohol. The man doesn't even flinch slightly as they clean the excess blood to get a look at his injuries, but his weak response immediately registers as a bad sign in Chae-Yeon's mind- especially with the less-than-positive readings on the monitor. By the time they have a clear view of the source of his wounds, it's barely been half a minute since the patient had been pulled aboard, yet his vitals were still dropping- and fast.

"It's a bullet wound. Yeon, get the tools. Dae-Suk, marker."

Everything seems to go smoothly from there. Doctor Kang merely makes a slight noise of acknowledgement as she takes the sterilised tweezers and surgical knife from Chae-Yeon's hands, while Dae-Suk keeps an eye on the vitals. The doctor starts working on removing the bullet immediately, and Chae-Yeon barely needs instructions to know what to do as the operation takes place- where to hold the patient down, when to hold the tools for the doctor, where to disinfect the skin before they begin to make more space for the tweezers to reach into the wound. She's been a nurse for four years now- a surgical nurse for even less than that- but she'd seen bullet wounds before in the ER to know how to handle the situation. This may have been a rare instance where they have to conduct the surgery on a moving helicopter, sure, but they have to do their best with what they have.

They hadn't been able to save every patient, of course. In fact, Chae-Yeon had lost more patients than she could count to wounds just like this one. Policemen, innocent bystanders, children.... but she would not give up on this man. Not as long as his heart still beat.

"Yeon, the tray."

"Yes, doctor."

Chae-Yeon has no idea how long it's taken to get the bullet out- her hands had moved almost on autopilot throughout the operation as Dr Kang slid the tweezers into the wound, doing her best not to aggravate it further and cause more damage so close to the man's vitals. She can hardly pause to wonder or care about such trivialities, however, and she merely responds as she is told. When Dr Kang extracts the single, blood-covered bullet from the man's chest, Chae-Yeon almost exhales a sigh of relief- but she knows the real challenge was yet to come. Removing the bullet was the easy part, and as she exchanges places with Dae-Suk so that he can begin working on the sutures with Dr Kang, her eyes widen as she takes in the readings on the screen.

"Doctor, his heartbeat is dropping fast!" Chae-Yeon cries out, and the doctor's head snaps up at the notice. "Vital readings are plummeting- he's entering cardiac arrest!"

"We're not losing him!" Dr Kang swears, but her hands remain steady as she does everything in her power to help stop the bleeding. Without looking up from where she closes the surgical wound, she barks out orders for administering the proper medication to Dae-Suk before turning on Yeon. "Get the defibrillators ready on standby."

Chae-Yeon nods, manoeuvring swiftly between everyone to get the equipment running. As she flips on the power source on the defibrillators, she has to remind herself to steady her hands and stay calm. At the back of her mind, she registers her minor discomforts- breathing is more difficult than usual with the surgical mask on her face, and her glove-clad hands are slick with blood- but none of that deters her from her work.

As she begins attaching the electrode pads to the man's chest, her lips thin behind her mask as she notes the beeping of the monitor behind her. Yeon finds her eyes flickering back towards the face of the man on the table, and she starts to talk before she can even register what she's saying.

"I damn well hope that you can hear me." Her words tumble out before she can even think over them, but desperation clouds her logic and urges her to do anything, anything at all to keep this man alive. "But you'll be okay. Work with us here! Don't give up!"

The telltale sounds of the monitor tells her that he's beginning to flat line before she even looks up to see it. Yeon barely registers the cry of "Clear!" From Dr Kang, nor how Dae-Suk urges her to move away from the patient as the electrocardiogram readings are taken down. instead, her attention becomes entirely focused on the line that beat in tandem with his heart. The intervals between his weak hearbeats is growing more and more distant with each passing moment- if they don't do this now-!

Upon setting the voltage and timing and calling for clearance once more, Dr Kang administers the shock.

The jolt of electricity that's sent coursing through the man's body makes him physically jolt in the attempt to get his heart pumping in his ribcage again. There's a brief pause before the next shock, but there's nothing but white noise in Yeon's ears as she keeps her eyes the monitor with horror and anticipation. When Dr Kang gives the motion to hold off, all eyes are on the screen, praying for a miracle to happen.

Silence. Nothing but a flatline showing on the monitor. Yeon feels her own heartbeat like a drum in her ears, the silence of the helicopter broken only by the sound of the rushing wind.

No. She feels her hands clenching into fists by her sides as her gaze falls to the floor, her heart sinking in her chest. No, no. They'd... they'd failed. They hadn't been able to-

There was the slightest movement.

Chae-Yeon raises her eyes to the monitor again, and she swears her own heart stops beating for a moment- because there, recorded on the screen despite all the chaos and odds against them, was a pulse.

 

**Author's Note:**

> First chapter is a little bit all over the place, I know. But I couldn't think of any other way to start things off besides jumping right into the first phase of 'fix-it' with the prologue lmao. I'm no medical professional and a lot of the things going on in this chapter is based off what little knowledge I do have and I could be very, very wrong with certain procedures or details- if so, please do let me know! I'd really like to make this as close to realistic as I can. Things will be explained more in detail regarding Chae-Yeon and her connection to the story, so please be patient with me til then! (Also fear not @ all the OCs this chapter- the only two that are relevant to the plot I'm planning will be Yeon and Ae-Ra lmao)
> 
> Next chapter- the RFA party, and how one chance encounter led to the operation that saved V's life. Stay tuned!


End file.
